Ultimate Vampire Crawlers Tier List — All Characters, Weapons, Power-Ups & Arcana

Complete Vampire Crawlers tier list, with all Crawlers, Weapons, Arcanas, and Power Ups ranked and explained.

Screenshot by PGG

Updated on April 29, 2026: Our Vampire Crawlers Tier List covers all the Crawlers, Weapons, Power Ups, and Arcana.

Vampire Crawlers is a roguelite deckbuilder and a first-person dungeon crawler with 21 Crawlers and dozens of cards you’ll need to unlock first. To get the best out of them, you need to spend coins (and time grinding), so figuring out what is actually worth your time is key to success. That is where this Vampire Crawlers tier list comes in!

Vampire Crawlers Characters (Crawlers) Tier List

Vampire Crawlers launches with 21 playable Crawlers, each with a starting weapon card, a «when active» trigger bonus, and a secondary bonus tied to a specific card color. The top Crawlers are the ones whose passives solve actual run problems like mana flow, sustain, raw damage, or consistent scaling. Here is how they stack up in the current meta:

⇓ META CRAWLERS ⇓

Pugnala

Lama

Poppea

Christine

⇓ GREAT CRAWLERS ⇓

Arca

Suor Clerici

Porta

Bianca Ramba

Mortaccio

O’Sole

⇓ DECENT CRAWLERS ⇓

Poe

Antonio

Imelda

Gennaro

Dommario

Concetta

Krochi

⇓ SITUATIONAL PICKS ⇓

Pasqualina

Yatta Cavallo

Giovanna

Gallo

S Tier: The Best Characters in Vampire Crawlers

These S-tier Crawlers carry runs harder than anyone else in the roster. Each one either makes combo turns easier to build, keeps you alive when chip damage starts piling up, or pushes raw damage hard enough to end fights before they become awkward.

Crawler	Description	How to Unlock
Poppea Song of Mana	Poppea must be part of your team if you want to have Crawler bonuses all the time during the combat. While extra Hand on play is nice, the 1 Duration you get each time you play yellow cards is a game changer.	Find the Coffin in Milk Factory.
Pugnala Provola Phiera / Eight (gun pair)	Pugnala comes with great offensive cards and 20% damage buff, but that’s not the most important thing! Each time you play a yellow card you’ll draw one card, so you always have something to play. Combine her with Lama for maximum damage.	Find the hidden Coffin in Berserk Wood (Mad Forest variant).
Christine Pentagram	Christine is the best character in Vampire Crawlers! Her starting deck includes notoriosly hard to find Pentagram, and the holy trinity of cards: Light Tome, Armor, and Attractorb. This way, you have all the cards you need to build a powerful endgame deck. As if that’s not enough, she also prevents 1 enemy from attacking when purple card is played. The down side? You must first find that damn Pentagram…	Unlock, find, and play Pentagram.
Lama Axe	Lama has the best damage buff in the game. A base 50% damage increase (even more if you play it as part of the combo) is the biggest single damage modifier in the game, and 15% extra damage on blue card play keeps the pressure going.	Complete a dungeon with 10% Curse or more.

A Tier: Strong, Reliable Crawlers

These Crawlers are not quite S-tier, but every one of them has a very real build case behind it. Most of them are fantastic support characters, but are also capable as solo fighters.

Crawler Description How to Unlock

Arca Fire Wand Arca is the one pick in the roster if you’re looking for the extra Mana source. You’ll get 3 Mana when you play him, and additional 1 Mana each time you play a purple card. Having enough Mana is especially important if you’re looking to create multiple combos. Play Fire Wand cards 100 times across any runs.
Suor Clerici Santa Water Suor Clerici is will keep you alive, as ti heals 3 HP on play plus 1 Health per blue card played. She is our top pick for beginners thanks to the built-in forgiveness. Recover 1,000 HP.

Porta Lightninh Ring Porta combines Mana bonus with improved splash damage by rewarding you with 25 Area when played. Porta basically does the same thing as Arca, so having them both in the party let’s you enjoy plenty of Mana to build combos. Play Lightning Ring cards 100 times.

Bianca Ramba Carrello Bianca Ramba add more missles to your weapon cards, making them much deadlier. When you play this crawler, you’ll get 3 Amount, but you’ll get one more each time you play a purple card! While there are better options for end game teams, Bianca is very useful for much of the game. Defeat the Milk Elemental in the Dairy Plant.

Mortaccio Bone Mortaccio is the Bone specialist, making him one of the best crawlers for beginngers, as he start with Bone, which is the ultimate 0-cost weapon card. Combine it with 1 Amount it gives you when you play blue cards and you’ll rain bones on enemies in no time. Defeat 444 Skeletons in Mad Forest.

O’Sole Celestial Dusting O’Sole gives you 3 Amount when played, which is a lot, and that’s just a base number (it gives you more if you put him in combo). Luck bonus of 5% when playing red cards sounds low, but keep in mind that those cards are played all the time! O’Sole also start with Celestial Dusting weapon card, which is a great 2-cost card. Defeat 50 Dragon Shrimps in Gallo Tower.

B Tier: Mid Choices

Every Crawler in this group is playable, and several of them can still clear Dairy Plant on their own with some luck. They’re just not as powerful or useful as the S and A-tiered heroes.

Crawler Description How to Unlock

Antonio Belpaese Whip Antonio will keep you safe with extra Armor on play, and potent on offense with 10% extra damage whn playing red cards. While we all love Antonio, as he’s a starting character and face of the franchise, you’ll move on from him as soon as you find better Crawlers. Starting character.

Imelda Belpaese Magic Wand Imelda will be your favorite early game character because of all the extra XP she gives. She adds 15 XP when played, and 1 XP Growth each time you play a yellow card, making her the ultimate XP farming hero. Starting character.

Gennaro Belpaese Knife Gennaro is a strong early game character as he gives you 2 Amount when played, while also dealing 50 damage each tim you play a red card. You’ll never play him once you unlock better Crawlers, but until then, he’ll get the job done. Defeat the Mantichana boss in Mad Forest.

Dommario King Bible Dommario was my favorite character in Vampire Survivors, but here he’s not that powerful. He’ll give you 2 Duration when played plus 40 damage when a purple card is played. This is solid, but he’s most useful for having King Bible as a starting weapon. While great in early stages, Dommario is not very useful after Dairy Farm. Collect 5,000 coins.

Concetta Shadow Pinion Conceta brings a lot of Area bonuses, if you want to double down on splash damage. She’s also useful if you want to try Shadow Pinion weapon and its evolved version Valkyrie Turner (not worth it). Find the coffin in Gallo Tower

Poe Garlic Poe was a popular choice in Vampire Survivors because of the Garlic mechanic, but it’s a different story here. This veteran is most useful if you need to draw more cards (1 per blue card played). Poe adds 20 Area when played as a bonus to splash damage, which is the best Area buff after Porta. Play Garlic cards 25 times across any runs.

Krochi Cross Krochi is a true Revival farm, making him irreplaceable for the endgame. You gain 5% Revival each time you play Wild (W) cards, which makes him heavily deck-dependent. This strategy requires significant Duration and reusable Wild cards, but the ceiling is enormous! With enough multi-use Wild cards, you can generate Revivals faster than you die, becoming functionally immortal. However, his use is only necessary for the hardest runs where you know death is frequent; even then, you’ll need some luck to find, create, or duplicate reusable Wild cards (the Wings card is the GOAT, especially when combined with an Attractorb crafted with a gem to become a Wild card). Defeat a total of 6,666 enemies across all of your runs.

C Tier: Situational Picks

These Crawlers do not run the way the top tiers do, but each one meets your specific needs, like farming coins or hunting rare weapon cards like Pentagram. Either way, you won’t use them often.

Crawler Description How to Unlock

Yatta Cavallo Cherry Bomb Yatta is another Amount-focused character similar to Bianca Ramba. Everything is average here, from bonuses to the starting weapon. I suggest you simply skip this panda hero, and not even waste coins on unlocking him. Defeat 250 Lion Heads in the Inlaid Library.

Pasqualina Belpaese Runetracer Pasquelina provides 10 Area on play plus she increases Hand by 1 you play purple cards. That’s a respectable two-way package that feels split between damage and control, which keeps her in support territory rather than carrying runs. Use her services until you unlock better options. Reach Level 20 with Imelda Belpaese in the Inlaid Library.

Giovanna Grana Gatti Amari Giovanna is super useful if you’re hunting specific card that require a lot of luck. With 20% Luck bonus when played, she’s ideal for these runs. The extra draw is the real attraction since more cards solve real problems in combos, but there are other more useful Crawlers with the same ability. Find the Coffin in the Library Sanctum.

Gallo Clock Lancet Gallo is your go to Crawlers for Coin farming. The problem is you’ll unlock almost everything you need by the time you get him. You can try to speed run Gallo Tower to unlock him faster, but it’s easier to say than do. Defeat Gallo in the Gallo Tower

Vampire Crawlers Weapon Cards Tier List

Weapon cards are the core of every Vampire Crawlers deck, and because the combo system multiplies damage as you play cards in ascending Mana cost order, every cost bracket matters. The best decks in Vampire Crawlers have at least one strong weapon at 0, 1, 2, and 3 Mana, so the chain never breaks. Here’s the weapon tier list of all red cards (and one blue!) and their evolved versions.

⇓ MUST-DRAFT WEAPONS ⇓

S

Bone

Unholy Vespers

Ebony Wings Vampire

Bloody Tear

Hellfire

La Borra

Thunder Loop

Mannajja

Phieraggi

Pentagram

Gorgeous Moon

⇓ STRONG PICKS ⇓

A

King Bible

Soul Eater

Whip

Lightning Ring

Peachone

Song of Mana

Phierra Der Tuphello

Vandalier

Eight the Sparrow

Thousand Edge

Holy Wand

Death Spiral

Heaven Sword

⇓ SITUATIONAL CARDS ⇓

B

Knife

Fire Wand

Cross

Magic Wand

Axe

Santa Water

Shadow Pinion

NO FUTURE

Vicious Hunger

Carrello

Cherry Bomb Vampire

⇓ YOU CAN SKIP THEM ⇓

C

Runetracer

Garlic

Gatti Amari

Valkyrie Turner

Clock Lancet

Best Weapon Cards by Mana Cost

Because the combo system requires you to play cards in ascending Mana cost order, you want at least one strong weapon at each cost bracket. Here is a breakdown of the best picks at every Mana cost, including two of the best evolved weapons in the game for reference.

Card Description Why It Is Ranked Here

⭐ 0-Cost Cards — The Combo Starters

Bone Throws a bone that can hit every enemy on the field. The single best 0-cost weapon in the game and the best opener for most decks. Scales with Amount Crawlers like Mortaccio and Bianca Ramba into absurd damage numbers.

Whip Cracks across the front row for reliable melee damage. Efficient AoE weapon with an easy to get evolution, which .

Knife Rapid projectile that hits all enemies. Knife is a great 0-cost weapon and a reliable combo-opener. Pairs naturally with Bracer to evolve into Thousand Edge.

⭐ 1-Cost Cards — The Combo Backbone

King Bible Rotating tome that deals damage and has a chance to trigger Knockback. One of the best status-effect options in the game and a must-draft for boss fights. Evolves into Unholy Vespers with Spellbinder.

Runetracer Deal 15 base damage. Bounces to deal more damage. Good low cost weapon that’s even more efficient with a Amount buff.

Fire Wand Deals 45 damage. Hurls fireballs at a targeted enemies. Strong in combo chain. Evolves into Hellfire with Attractorb.

⭐ 2-Cost Cards — The Payoff Slot

Lightning Ring Deals 125 damage to multiple enemies. One of the best non-evolved 2-cost weapons.

Bloody TearEvolved Deal 40 damage to multiple enemies. On a critical hit heals 3 HP. Bloody Tear is evolved Whip that deals more damage and heals on crits, making it one of the best 2-cost weapons.

Unholy VespersEvolved Evolved King Bible with guaranteed Knockback on hit. Recipe: King Bible + Spellbinder. Always evolve King Bible when the recipe is available.

Eight The Sparrow Deal 35 damage to multiple enemies. Raw damage combined with evolution potential makes this card a must have.

⭐ 3-Cost Cards — Chain Finishers

HellfireEvolved eal 225 damage with a chance to Knockback. Hellfire is the best 3-cost Weapon card, so make sure to create it asap. Evolution: Fire Wand + Spinach.

Peachone Deal 100 damage. Bombards enemies after every turn. The damage-over-time piles up across long fights. One half of the Vandalier evolution recipe with Ebony Wings.

⭐ 4+ Cost Cards — The Big Finishers

PhieraggiEvolved Deal 350 damage to multiple enemies. One of the most reliable end-of-combo finishers. Works best at the tail of a fully-built 0-to-4 chain where the multiplier is already deep.

Thunder LoopEvolved Deal 150 damage. Attacks again at the end of the turn. Extremly efficient combo finisher that hits enemies twice.

VandalierEvolved Deal 500 damage with a chance to Knockback. Big Bird. One of the biggest single-card damage spikes in the game when landed at the end of a long combo chain. Worth building toward.

TIP: Do not forget the support cards! Mana book cards (0 to 3 cost) are mandatory in any deck because they refund Mana mid-turn and let you extend combos deeper than your starting pool allows. Armor cards serve a similar role for defense, and both fit neatly into your combo chain instead of competing with your weapons. Arguably the most important support card is Attractorb, as it draws more cards giving you better options for combos. Check our Vampire Crawlers Evolutions Guide for all evolution recipes.

Vampire Crawlers Power Ups Tier List

Power Ups are the permanent upgrades you purchase at the Power Ups Shop in the village for coins. They apply to every future run, which makes them the most important long-term investment in Vampire Crawlers. The catch is that they are expensive, especially early, so knowing which ones to prioritize is the difference between smooth meta-progression and a slow grind.

⇓ INVEST FIRST ⇓

S

Crawler Slot

Greed

Might

Cooldown

⇓ STRONG UPGRADES ⇓

A

Recovery

Amount

Armor

Growth

Revival

Magnet

⇓ SITUATIONAL UPGRADES ⇓

B

Luck

Reroll

Area

Max Health

Hand

⇓ NICE TO HAVE BUT NOT URGENT ⇓

C

Duration

Skip

Banish

Curse

S Tier Power Ups: Invest in These First

Power Up Why It Is Top-Tier

Crawler Slot Each rank adds an extra Crawler slot to your run, letting you stack the signature bonuses of multiple characters in one deck. This way you can combine multiple effects, which is necessary for endgame.

Greed +25% coin acquisition per rank. The best first Power Up in the game because of the compounding return on investment: more coins per run means every later upgrade arrives faster. Push Greed to Rank 2 or 3 before spending on anything else, then let it snowball your village economy.

Might Damage boost that applies to every weapon card in your deck. Might is the single best combat Power Up.

Cooldown Cooldown adds +1 Mana per rank, so make it a priority to max it as soon as possible. More mana means more combos, making your crawling easier.

A Tier Power Ups: Strong Secondary Upgrades

Power Up Why It Is Ranked Here

Recovery Recovery restores +1 Health after each encounter. It’s important to upgrade it to prolong runs and ensure you are at maximum health when facing a boss, even after mutliple tought battles.

Amount Adds +1 projectile per rank to weapon cards. The math is clear, more projectiles means more damage.

Revival Brings you back to life after a fatal hit. While Revival is one of the strongest run-saving Power Ups in the game, there’s no need to invest in it until you unlock Gallow Tower.

Armor Gives you +2 Armor per rank for damage reduction. Helps your Crawler tank hits without losing HP, which is especially useful in early game, when you don’t have strong combo finishers.

Growth Increases XP gain rate and level ups, giving you more cards to use in combat.

Magnet Increases Draw effects by 1 card per rank, giving you more cards to play with.

B Tier Power Ups: Situational Upgrades

Power Up Why It Is Situational

Luck Higher Luck directly improves gem drops, rare card appearances, and chest outcomes. A universal upgrade that improves every single run regardless of Crawler or deck, and the scaling stays relevant in the late game.

Reroll Gives you extra rerolls on in-dungeon card choices. Mitigates the worst swings of RNG and lets you chase specific evolution recipes more reliably.

Area Area gives you +10% splash damage per rank. While it’s nice to have, it’s not an urgent investment.

Max Health A bigger HP pool sounds great on paper, but the extra ceiling does not help if you cannot heal back up to it. Some Crawlers genuinely want it (low-HP picks like Pugnala) but most builds get more value from Recovery for the same investment.

Hand Increases your starting hand size, giving you more cards to chain together on the opening turn. Useful in combo-heavy builds where extra options at the start of a fight can make or break the chain. Drops off in builds with strong card draw already baked in.

C Tier Power Ups: Nice to Have But Not Urgent

Power Up Why It Is Lower Priority

Duration Extends how many turns Crawlers are active after you play them. It’s not urgent to invest in until you have at least two Crawler Slots unlocked. Make it a priority after you unlock Gallo Tower.

Skip Lets you skip level-up rewards for XP. In practice, having more options is almost always more valuable than slightly faster leveling, which is why Skip rarely feels like an upgrade compared to Reroll.

Banish Lets you remove a card from the offered pool so it does not appear again that run. Helps thin out unwanted picks but does not directly add power, which is why it lands here. Most useful for veteran players who already know which cards to avoid.

Curse Increases enemy difficulty in exchange for better rewards. A high-risk modifier that only pays off if your deck is already strong enough to handle the spike. Skip it until you are consistently clearing the hardest dungeons.

Vampire Crawlers Arcanas Tier List

Arcanas are the pre-run modifier cards you equip at the Fortune Teller in the village before entering a dungeon. There are 12 Arcanas in Vampire Crawlers at launch, and you can only equip one before the run. Unlock the Fortune Teller by finding the Polentír relic in the Furious Forest, then start chasing the unlock conditions for each Arcana.

⇓ RUN-DEFINING ARCANAS ⇓

S

Chain Link

Your Shield My Liege

Sharp Mind

⇓ STRONG PRE-RUN PICKS ⇓

A

Shield Bash

Mana Syphon

Over The Top

⇓ SITUATIONAL ARCANAS ⇓

B

Experimental Medicine

Make a Scene

Wild Buff

⇓ WEAKEST ARCANAS ⇓

C

Jester’s Hat

And Another

Swollen Fist

S Tier Arcanas: The Run-Defining Picks

These three Arcanas reshape entire builds. If you can equip one of these and build around it, you can be sure you’ll have a long run.

Arcana Why It Is Top-Tier How to Unlock

Chain Link Effect: Combos do not clear between turns.
The most build-defining Arcana in the game. Combos normally reset at the end of each turn, so keeping that multiplier alive opens up strategies that simply do not exist without it. Not especially useful until you unlock 4-cost cards.
Reach a combo of 12 or more in a single turn.

Your Shield My Liege Effect: Remaining Armor persists between turns.

With YSML equipped, you can stack a wall of armor during the course of battle instead of losing it at the end of the turn. It allows you to make armor combos that otherwise would make no sense.
Gain 2,000 total Armor across all runs.

Sharp Mind Effect: Keep up to 5 Mana between turns.

Carrying Mana between turns dramatically extends what you can do on the following turn. It removes the worst feeling in the game of ending a turn with unspent Mana you cannot save.
Play 100 purple cards across all runs.

A Tier Arcanas: Strong Pre-Run Picks

Excellent Arcanas with clear use cases. Experimental Medicine is the default sustain pick, Mana Syphon scales over long runs, and Over The Top supercharges Crawler triggers. Pick whichever lines up with your draft.

Arcana Why It Is Strong How to Unlock

Experimental Medicine Effect: Doubles all healing effects.
The default S-tier pick for sustain builds. Doubles every Recovery tick, every healing card, and every Suor Clerici trigger. Available from your very first run, but B-tier in any deck without consistent healing sources.
Unlocked automatically from the start.

Mana Syphon Effect: Permanently increases Mana after every 100 cards played.

A long-run scaler that becomes more valuable the deeper you push. The unlock condition itself encourages you to build the kind of high-Mana turns that pay off this Arcana. Excellent for any deck that already plans to lean into Mana flow.
Gain 15 Mana in a single turn.

Over The Top Effect: When a Crawler leaves, place them at the top of your Deck.

Lets you trigger Crawler abilities far more often by guaranteeing the next draw cycles them right back. Turns characters like Gennaro into bonus damage machines and Imelda into an XP fountain. Unlocks naturally over a few runs.
Play Crawler cards 100 times across all runs.

B Tier Arcanas: Situational

These Arcanas have real builds where they shine, but the grind to unlock them is heavier than the payoff most runs see. Worth the work for late-game progression, not worth chasing early.

Arcana Why It Is Situational How to Unlock

Make a Scene Effect: Activate Crawler trigger abilities for free at the start of each turn.
Useful in builds that already lean on Crawler triggers, but most decks get more out of Over The Top with a fraction of the grind.
Activate Crawler trigger abilities 1,500 times.

Wild Buff Effect: Cards picked up from light sources benefit from combo multipliers.

Niche but powerful in dungeons with frequent light-source pickups. Not a priority, unless you get it as a reward during the run.
Play 200 cards picked up from light sources.

Shield Bash Effect: Deal your total Armor value as damage to the front row after playing an Armor card.

Turns your defensive cards into a front-row nuke. The combo system applies to Armor generation too, which means a long chain can build a wall of Armor that Shield Bash converts into massive damage. Available from your very first run, which is a huge head start.
Unlocked automatically from the start.

C Tier Arcanas: Lower Priority

Conditional Arcanas with narrow use cases and demanding unlock requirements. They are rarely equipped for a serious run, but they can unlock as a side effect of other progression and are worth knowing about for completionists.

Arcana Why It Is Lower Priority How to Unlock

And Another Effect: Cards become Free-to-Play if a version of them has already been played this turn.
Highly conditional and only relevant if your deck already plays repeated cards in a single turn. Skip until late progression.
Play 500 Free-to-Play cards across all runs.

Swollen Fist Effect: Deal damage based on the size of your Deck Pile at the end of each turn.

Goes against every logical deckbuilding rule because it rewards bloated decks. The 40-card unlock requirement forces you to play badly to earn it, and the payoff rarely justifies running fat decks afterwards. Niche and weak in practice.
Reach a deck size of 40 cards.

Jester’s Hat Effect: Add a Wild card to your Deck at the start of each floor. Wild (W) cards give you additional bonuses and improve the damage of the next card you play while not breaking a combo chain. While that’s nice, there are plenty of more important Arcanas you should equip before starting the run. Play 150 Wild cards across all runs.

TIP: Two Arcanas, Experimental Medicine and Shield Bash, are unlocked automatically from your first run, so you have access to a healing-focused and an armor-focused option immediately. The other 10 require specific milestones, but the Town Hall’s Unlocks menu shows your progress on each one.

Vampire Crawlers Tier List FAQs

Who is the best Crawler in Vampire Crawlers?

Christine is the best overall character in Vampire Crawlers. Her starting weapon is Pentagram, which destroys 8 rows of enemies, while other starting cards include Armor, Light Tome, and Attractorb. The downside is that it’s very hard to unlock her, so focus on other great Crawlers like Lama and Pugnala.

What is the best Crawler for beginners in Vampire Crawlers?

Suor Clerici is the best beginner pick because her healing passive gives you room to take serious hits without losing battles.

What is the best weapon card in Vampire Crawlers?

Bone is the best 0-cost weapon card in the game because it can hit every enemy on the field and scales hard with Amount bonuses from Crawlers like Mortaccio and Bianca Ramba. For 1-cost cards, King Bible is the top pick. The best non-evolved 2-cost weapons are Lightning Ring, and the evolved 2-cost weapon is Unholy Vespers (King Bible plus Spellbinder).

Which Power Up should I upgrade first in Vampire Crawlers?

Upgrade Greed Power Up first, then push it to Rank 2 or 3 early to earn coins faster. After Greed, prioritize Might for flat damage. Save Crawler Slot for later once you have unlocked enough characters to actually benefit from combining them.

How does the combo system work in Vampire Crawlers?

The combo system works by playing cards each turn in ascending Mana cost order. Start with a 0-cost card, then a 1-cost card, then a 2-cost card, and so on. Each card in the correct sequence multiplies the effect of the next one in the chain. The deeper the chain, the bigger the damage. Wild (white) cards let you bridge gaps in your Mana cost spread, which makes them some of the most valuable cards in the game, regardless of which Crawler you are playing.

How do evolutions work in Vampire Crawlers?

To evolve a weapon, you need three things at once: the correct Base Card, the matching Item Card, and an empty gem socket on the Base Card. When you have the pair and then open a chest or interact with a Gem Station, you will be offered an Evolution Gem. Applying it fuses the pair into the evolved weapon. Never apply customization gems to a card you plan to evolve because a filled gem socket blocks the evolution trigger. Examples include Whip plus Hollow Heart to Bloody Tear, King Bible plus Spellbinder to Unholy Vespers, and Garlic plus Pummarola to Soul Eater.

How many Crawlers are in Vampire Crawlers?

There are 21 Crawlers in Vampire Crawlers at launch. They range from immediately available starters like Antonio and Imelda Belpaese to unlock-gated characters like Mortaccio (defeat 444 Skeletons), Arca (play Fire Wand cards 100 times), and Pugnala (find the hidden Coffin in Berserk Wood). Poncle has confirmed that post-launch content is planned, so the roster may expand in future updates.

What platforms is Vampire Crawlers on?

Vampire Crawlers is available on Steam (PC), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch as of April 21, 2026. It is also included on Xbox Game Pass and is Steam Deck Verified. The game costs $9.99 / EUR 9.99 / GBP 9.99 across all platforms.

Do I need to play Vampire Survivors before Vampire Crawlers?

No. Vampire Crawlers is a fully standalone game. It reuses characters, weapons, and environments from Vampire Survivors but plays as a completely different genre: a turn-based, roguelite deckbuilder inside first-person dungeons. New players who have never touched the original can start with Vampire Crawlers without missing anything essential.

What is the best Crawler for combo builds in Vampire Crawlers?

Arca is the best Crawler for combo-focused builds. Extra Mana is the ideal kind of combo support because it affects the exact moment a turn begins. More Mana in your opening hand lets the combo start earlier, lets better cards land later in the chain, and gives your whole deck more ways to function. Gaining additional Mana from purple card play keeps the engine running. Christine is a strong secondary combo pick thanks to her card cost reduction effect, which can reshape a turn completely in the right deck.

What is the best Crawler for raw damage in Vampire Crawlers?

Lama is the best Crawler for pure raw damage in Vampire Crawlers. A 50 percent damage increase when Lama is played is the biggest single damage modifier in the roster, and the extra damage on blue card play keeps that pressure going through the rest of the chain. Pugnala is the strong second choice because her flat 20 percent damage plus draw from yellow cards combines offense with consistency. If you just want fights to end fast, Lama is the answer.

That wraps up our Vampire Crawlers tier list covering every Crawler, every major weapon card, Power Up, and Arcanas. While you are here, check out our Vampire Crawlers Beginner’s Guide and Vampire Crawlers Evolutions Guide for everything you need to have successful runs.

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Crawler	Description	How to Unlock
Arca Fire Wand	Arca is the one pick in the roster if you’re looking for the extra Mana source. You’ll get 3 Mana when you play him, and additional 1 Mana each time you play a purple card. Having enough Mana is especially important if you’re looking to create multiple combos.	Play Fire Wand cards 100 times across any runs.
Suor Clerici Santa Water	Suor Clerici is will keep you alive, as ti heals 3 HP on play plus 1 Health per blue card played. She is our top pick for beginners thanks to the built-in forgiveness.	Recover 1,000 HP.
Porta Lightninh Ring	Porta combines Mana bonus with improved splash damage by rewarding you with 25 Area when played. Porta basically does the same thing as Arca, so having them both in the party let’s you enjoy plenty of Mana to build combos.	Play Lightning Ring cards 100 times.
Bianca Ramba Carrello	Bianca Ramba add more missles to your weapon cards, making them much deadlier. When you play this crawler, you’ll get 3 Amount, but you’ll get one more each time you play a purple card! While there are better options for end game teams, Bianca is very useful for much of the game.	Defeat the Milk Elemental in the Dairy Plant.
Mortaccio Bone	Mortaccio is the Bone specialist, making him one of the best crawlers for beginngers, as he start with Bone, which is the ultimate 0-cost weapon card. Combine it with 1 Amount it gives you when you play blue cards and you’ll rain bones on enemies in no time.	Defeat 444 Skeletons in Mad Forest.
O’Sole Celestial Dusting	O’Sole gives you 3 Amount when played, which is a lot, and that’s just a base number (it gives you more if you put him in combo). Luck bonus of 5% when playing red cards sounds low, but keep in mind that those cards are played all the time! O’Sole also start with Celestial Dusting weapon card, which is a great 2-cost card.	Defeat 50 Dragon Shrimps in Gallo Tower.

Crawler	Description	How to Unlock
Antonio Belpaese Whip	Antonio will keep you safe with extra Armor on play, and potent on offense with 10% extra damage whn playing red cards. While we all love Antonio, as he’s a starting character and face of the franchise, you’ll move on from him as soon as you find better Crawlers.	Starting character.
Imelda Belpaese Magic Wand	Imelda will be your favorite early game character because of all the extra XP she gives. She adds 15 XP when played, and 1 XP Growth each time you play a yellow card, making her the ultimate XP farming hero.	Starting character.
Gennaro Belpaese Knife	Gennaro is a strong early game character as he gives you 2 Amount when played, while also dealing 50 damage each tim you play a red card. You’ll never play him once you unlock better Crawlers, but until then, he’ll get the job done.	Defeat the Mantichana boss in Mad Forest.
Dommario King Bible	Dommario was my favorite character in Vampire Survivors, but here he’s not that powerful. He’ll give you 2 Duration when played plus 40 damage when a purple card is played. This is solid, but he’s most useful for having King Bible as a starting weapon. While great in early stages, Dommario is not very useful after Dairy Farm.	Collect 5,000 coins.
Concetta Shadow Pinion	Conceta brings a lot of Area bonuses, if you want to double down on splash damage. She’s also useful if you want to try Shadow Pinion weapon and its evolved version Valkyrie Turner (not worth it).	Find the coffin in Gallo Tower
Poe Garlic	Poe was a popular choice in Vampire Survivors because of the Garlic mechanic, but it’s a different story here. This veteran is most useful if you need to draw more cards (1 per blue card played). Poe adds 20 Area when played as a bonus to splash damage, which is the best Area buff after Porta.	Play Garlic cards 25 times across any runs.
Krochi Cross	Krochi is a true Revival farm, making him irreplaceable for the endgame. You gain 5% Revival each time you play Wild (W) cards, which makes him heavily deck-dependent. This strategy requires significant Duration and reusable Wild cards, but the ceiling is enormous! With enough multi-use Wild cards, you can generate Revivals faster than you die, becoming functionally immortal. However, his use is only necessary for the hardest runs where you know death is frequent; even then, you’ll need some luck to find, create, or duplicate reusable Wild cards (the Wings card is the GOAT, especially when combined with an Attractorb crafted with a gem to become a Wild card).	Defeat a total of 6,666 enemies across all of your runs.

Crawler	Description	How to Unlock
Yatta Cavallo Cherry Bomb	Yatta is another Amount-focused character similar to Bianca Ramba. Everything is average here, from bonuses to the starting weapon. I suggest you simply skip this panda hero, and not even waste coins on unlocking him.	Defeat 250 Lion Heads in the Inlaid Library.
Pasqualina Belpaese Runetracer	Pasquelina provides 10 Area on play plus she increases Hand by 1 you play purple cards. That’s a respectable two-way package that feels split between damage and control, which keeps her in support territory rather than carrying runs. Use her services until you unlock better options.	Reach Level 20 with Imelda Belpaese in the Inlaid Library.
Giovanna Grana Gatti Amari	Giovanna is super useful if you’re hunting specific card that require a lot of luck. With 20% Luck bonus when played, she’s ideal for these runs. The extra draw is the real attraction since more cards solve real problems in combos, but there are other more useful Crawlers with the same ability.	Find the Coffin in the Library Sanctum.
Gallo Clock Lancet	Gallo is your go to Crawlers for Coin farming. The problem is you’ll unlock almost everything you need by the time you get him. You can try to speed run Gallo Tower to unlock him faster, but it’s easier to say than do.	Defeat Gallo in the Gallo Tower

Card	Description	Why It Is Ranked Here
⭐ 0-Cost Cards — The Combo Starters
Bone	Throws a bone that can hit every enemy on the field.	The single best 0-cost weapon in the game and the best opener for most decks. Scales with Amount Crawlers like Mortaccio and Bianca Ramba into absurd damage numbers.
Whip	Cracks across the front row for reliable melee damage.	Efficient AoE weapon with an easy to get evolution, which .
Knife	Rapid projectile that hits all enemies.	Knife is a great 0-cost weapon and a reliable combo-opener. Pairs naturally with Bracer to evolve into Thousand Edge.
⭐ 1-Cost Cards — The Combo Backbone
King Bible	Rotating tome that deals damage and has a chance to trigger Knockback.	One of the best status-effect options in the game and a must-draft for boss fights. Evolves into Unholy Vespers with Spellbinder.
Runetracer	Deal 15 base damage. Bounces to deal more damage.	Good low cost weapon that’s even more efficient with a Amount buff.
Fire Wand	Deals 45 damage. Hurls fireballs at a targeted enemies.	Strong in combo chain. Evolves into Hellfire with Attractorb.
⭐ 2-Cost Cards — The Payoff Slot
Lightning Ring	Deals 125 damage to multiple enemies.	One of the best non-evolved 2-cost weapons.
Bloody TearEvolved	Deal 40 damage to multiple enemies. On a critical hit heals 3 HP.	Bloody Tear is evolved Whip that deals more damage and heals on crits, making it one of the best 2-cost weapons.
Unholy VespersEvolved	Evolved King Bible with guaranteed Knockback on hit.	Recipe: King Bible + Spellbinder. Always evolve King Bible when the recipe is available.
Eight The Sparrow	Deal 35 damage to multiple enemies.	Raw damage combined with evolution potential makes this card a must have.
⭐ 3-Cost Cards — Chain Finishers
HellfireEvolved	eal 225 damage with a chance to Knockback.	Hellfire is the best 3-cost Weapon card, so make sure to create it asap. Evolution: Fire Wand + Spinach.
Peachone	Deal 100 damage. Bombards enemies after every turn.	The damage-over-time piles up across long fights. One half of the Vandalier evolution recipe with Ebony Wings.
⭐ 4+ Cost Cards — The Big Finishers
PhieraggiEvolved	Deal 350 damage to multiple enemies.	One of the most reliable end-of-combo finishers. Works best at the tail of a fully-built 0-to-4 chain where the multiplier is already deep.
Thunder LoopEvolved	Deal 150 damage. Attacks again at the end of the turn.	Extremly efficient combo finisher that hits enemies twice.
VandalierEvolved	Deal 500 damage with a chance to Knockback. Big Bird.	One of the biggest single-card damage spikes in the game when landed at the end of a long combo chain. Worth building toward.

Power Up	Why It Is Top-Tier
Crawler Slot	Each rank adds an extra Crawler slot to your run, letting you stack the signature bonuses of multiple characters in one deck. This way you can combine multiple effects, which is necessary for endgame.
Greed	+25% coin acquisition per rank. The best first Power Up in the game because of the compounding return on investment: more coins per run means every later upgrade arrives faster. Push Greed to Rank 2 or 3 before spending on anything else, then let it snowball your village economy.
Might	Damage boost that applies to every weapon card in your deck. Might is the single best combat Power Up.
Cooldown	Cooldown adds +1 Mana per rank, so make it a priority to max it as soon as possible. More mana means more combos, making your crawling easier.

Power Up	Why It Is Ranked Here
Recovery	Recovery restores +1 Health after each encounter. It’s important to upgrade it to prolong runs and ensure you are at maximum health when facing a boss, even after mutliple tought battles.
Amount	Adds +1 projectile per rank to weapon cards. The math is clear, more projectiles means more damage.
Revival	Brings you back to life after a fatal hit. While Revival is one of the strongest run-saving Power Ups in the game, there’s no need to invest in it until you unlock Gallow Tower.
Armor	Gives you +2 Armor per rank for damage reduction. Helps your Crawler tank hits without losing HP, which is especially useful in early game, when you don’t have strong combo finishers.
Growth	Increases XP gain rate and level ups, giving you more cards to use in combat.
Magnet	Increases Draw effects by 1 card per rank, giving you more cards to play with.

Power Up	Why It Is Situational
Luck	Higher Luck directly improves gem drops, rare card appearances, and chest outcomes. A universal upgrade that improves every single run regardless of Crawler or deck, and the scaling stays relevant in the late game.
Reroll	Gives you extra rerolls on in-dungeon card choices. Mitigates the worst swings of RNG and lets you chase specific evolution recipes more reliably.
Area	Area gives you +10% splash damage per rank. While it’s nice to have, it’s not an urgent investment.
Max Health	A bigger HP pool sounds great on paper, but the extra ceiling does not help if you cannot heal back up to it. Some Crawlers genuinely want it (low-HP picks like Pugnala) but most builds get more value from Recovery for the same investment.
Hand	Increases your starting hand size, giving you more cards to chain together on the opening turn. Useful in combo-heavy builds where extra options at the start of a fight can make or break the chain. Drops off in builds with strong card draw already baked in.

Power Up	Why It Is Lower Priority
Duration	Extends how many turns Crawlers are active after you play them. It’s not urgent to invest in until you have at least two Crawler Slots unlocked. Make it a priority after you unlock Gallo Tower.
Skip	Lets you skip level-up rewards for XP. In practice, having more options is almost always more valuable than slightly faster leveling, which is why Skip rarely feels like an upgrade compared to Reroll.
Banish	Lets you remove a card from the offered pool so it does not appear again that run. Helps thin out unwanted picks but does not directly add power, which is why it lands here. Most useful for veteran players who already know which cards to avoid.
Curse	Increases enemy difficulty in exchange for better rewards. A high-risk modifier that only pays off if your deck is already strong enough to handle the spike. Skip it until you are consistently clearing the hardest dungeons.